And here is my other book I read on holiday! This was a really fun, more action-packed story that I read while soaking up the sun. Though being honest, I did read most of this on the plane back home but some of it was read by the pool.
Plot: Newly-orphaned Anne Beddingfield came to London expecting excitement. She didn’t expect to find it on the platform of Hyde Park Corner tube station. When a fellow passenger pitches onto the rails and is electrocuted, the ‘doctor’ on the scene seems intent on searching the victim rather than examining him . . . Armed with a single clue, Anne finds herself struggling to unmask a faceless killer known only as ‘The Colonel’ – while ‘The Colonel’ struggles to eliminate her . . .
First thing I want to say was I loved Anne’s character! I found her to be so relatable and I understood exactly where she was coming from when she dreamt of having a life full of exciting adventures and struggled with the mundanity of normal life. I thought she was smart, independent, adaptable and at times very funny. She was a joy to read.
It was good to see a female protagonist, especially at the time it was written, to go through such an action-packed adventure. I was actually shocked by how fun this plot was. I thought it was going to be a bulk-standard murder mystery and it was high-paced, high-stakes, action-packed and exciting. Far removed from my original idea and expectation.
I loved how you couldn’t really trust anyone in this story. Everyone is a suspect and everyone does something to make you suspect them. It was really fun not knowing who the murderer could be.
I felt that the plot was all over the place. I felt that the writing needed more structure. I found that with every new piece of information that was received or discovered, I became incredibly confused in where it fit within the mystery, followed by a massive info dump which would then confuse you even more. The writing didn’t help you formulate even a small idea of how that info worked in the narrative or changed the events of the mystery. I felt like I need a more structured monologue or conversation between characters discussing the mystery and how the new developments fit into it, just so I could get even a vague understanding on what was going on. I found myself hoping that it would all make sense in the end rather than working alongside the character to figure it out.
I also felt the romance was hit and miss depending on the couple. On one hand, you had a prospective couple that was given a lot of time to get to know each other and it made sense with them liking each other. Then, on the other hand, you had a prospective couple where out of no-where there’s a marriage proposal. It made no sense to me.
Overall, I really did enjoy the story but you could definitely tell this was one of Christie’s earlier works just by the messy plot structure and underdeveloped romance that didn’t make sense.
The next book I will be reviewing will be A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
It felt so good to get back into another Christie novel. Like I said in my previous post, I love reading a murder mystery while soaking up the sun and that’s what I did. Yesterday, I came back from a great trip with my boyfriend and it felt good to kick back and relax a bit.
Plot: Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger. As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret. . . .
This was my first political based novel and I thought I was going to find that side of the novel boring and just waiting for it to get back to the mystery but I found myself very early on thoroughly enjoying the more political side to the story. It felt like the stakes were higher when you added all the politics. It becomes so much more than the normal family matter or village matter. Like I’m used to.
Anthony was an amazing, charismatic main protagonist and I loved reading the story from his point of view. He just had a way with people that was so fun to watch, he commanded every scene he was in, regardless of how powerful the other individuals were. I also loved how care-free he was which allowed us to experience some incredibly exciting scenes play out due to his lack of worries.
I enjoyed all the twists and turns that came with this novel. But, the ending was a bit OTT, you have to slightly suspend your disbelief with this ending. I personally thought it was a lot of fun but I feel some readers might find it a bit too much and not as well thought through. To me, it was just really fun.
Obviously, this book was published in the very early 1920s, so there were a few xenophobic and racist undertones, and at times, blatant racist remarks. This was uncomfortable to read. This is a reflection, sadly, of the prejudices against people of colour at the time and it is hard to read.
I can’t say too much about this novel due to spoilers so this review is a quick one.
The next post will be about The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie. I also read this book while I was away and thoroughly enjoyed it. The post will be up very soon.
There is not much I can say about this book without giving away Christie’s pure genius. So this won’t be that indepth of a review.
The first thing I would say after reading Sophie Hannah’s interpretation of Poirot, in The Monogram Murders, it makes you understand what it was about Christie’s Poirot that is unmatched and can’t be replicated no matter how hard we try. He is a great balance of knowing he is smarter than everyone else but also being humble about it. Being stern but compassionate. This balance is what makes Poirot great! It was great to dive back into the original Poirot.
I loved how everyone was framed as a suspect leaving the reader rather confused and no closer to who the actual murderer is. This also gets dragged out through a lot of the book so as you see the pages get smaller and smaller and you are reaching the end of the novel you are still wondering who it could be.
I really enjoyed the character Caroline Sheppard. I loved her ability to just gossip and not care about the consequences. While this isn’t a trait I would promote, it was very intriguing to read especially her nonchalance over causing trouble in her village. She is the person we would all be when something shocking happens, trying to know every little detail and discussing it with our friends.
One of the things I would say is that the writing is pretty basic, it was not the most exciting writing I have ever read. Thankfully, the plot makes up for the writing as the plot is incredibly masterful, so Christie can get away with the average writing style.
The next book I will be reviewing will be The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. This book has been on my TBR list for so long and I am so happy I can finally get to this book.
This was a book I was really excited for. I was really interested to see what my opinions would be on Hannah’s version of Poirot. I have only read 4 Poirot books but I have watched multiple episodes of the TV show starring David Suchet. I feel that Suchet’s portrayal is the most accurate portrayal of Poirot so I went in with that performance in mind.
PLOT: Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffee house is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done. Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a fashionable London hotel have been murdered and a cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim. In the hands of internationally bestselling author Sophie Hannah, Poirot plunges into a mystery set in 1920s London – a diabolically clever puzzle that can only be solved by the talented Belgian detective and his ‘little grey cells’. (Synopsis from Goodreads)
POSITIVES
The plot was really interesting. I really enjoy serial killers stories and when I read the synopsis of this story I had to just pick it up. What I loved about the plot is how intricate it was. I can’t say too much as I am trying to keep this spoiler free and with murder mysteries, you can’t say too much or it will ruin the novel. Let’s just say its a very detailed plot with a lot of interestings factors raised.
The big reveal at the end was really satisfying. This is probably the first murder mystery where I had no idea who it could be. Normally, I would think as I read about who it could be but with this book I consumed it so fast I didn’t have to think about who the murderer could be. When I found out the who, how, why I thought it was done really well. All I will say is it was a very Agatha Christie ending, so if you love her kind of reveals you will love this one.
I loved the variety of female characters in this story. All the women in this story vary in some way or another. I never felt I was reading a carbon-copy of your basic 1930’s woman. They were all interesting and, like with all mysteries, had something to hide. I really enjoyed reading about incredibly layered female characters, I would have to say my favourite character was Margarent Ernst.
I enjoyed the POV of Edward Catchpool, I think he was a good choice as the main character. As someone who likes to try and figure out who the murderer could be it is advantageous to have someone straight-forward thinking like Catchpool explaining the story rather than Poirot so you can think of all the ways the murders could have happened. If you read the story through Poirot’s mind it’s not just as fun becasue you would already know the awnsers.
NEGATIVES
To be honest, I didn’t particularly care for Hannah’s version of Poirot sadly I found him to be rude and unlikable which was disappointing. Sadly, I found him to be condescending and lacking the warmth I am so used to. Overall, the portrayal was fine it was similar to Christie’s version but there were just certain elements that put me off him.
Hannah gave some unnecessary backstory to Catchpool that, if removed from the story, wouldn’t affect the progression of the plot. I didn’t really see the point in adding this character points in. They weren’t expanded enough in the story to really warrant being used at all. This may come into play for later novels as a recurring theme we see with this character but I am not so sure. It came across as points that were meant to be important for the characters development but just weren’t explained or given any detail. It just seems unnecessary.
As mentioned before, I really like the intricate and detailed plot but when it came to the big reveal at the end, it felt like there was a lack of structure in how Hannah was going to explain the motive and how the victims were killed. The explanation was a bit all over the place which led to alot of confusion.
The next book I will be reviewing is The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. The highly awaited sequel that has me feeling all the feelings.
2018 has probably been my best reading year to date. So far I have read 31 books beating my target of 22 and I still have one book left that I want to read in the last 2-3 weeks left of December. Now that we are nearing the end of the year I want to look forward and start planning books I would like to read in 2019 and while that post will be coming in the following weeks. This post is a bit different.
The books in this list are a mixture of series I have completed and want to read again and series I started reading a couple of years ago but never finished, with this series I would start with re-reading the books I had already read and then continuing where I left off.
The reason this isn’t in my 2019 plan is that I wouldn’t be able to finish all of these series in one year as well as reading other books. This is more of a plan to cover the next 2 or 3 years. First up…
Series: Harry Potter
Author: J.K Rowling
Status: Currently Re-reading
Last Book I Read: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
No. of Books: 7
I decided early this year that I wanted to re-read the Harry Potter series. I have tried so many times to re-read the series, which I first read when I was 11, but I always gave up when it got to “Goblet of Fire”. The last time I tried to tackle this series I was 14 and got to the First Task chapter of the 4th book. Since then I have been listening to a variety of Harry Potter themed podcasts and it’s reignited my love for Harry Potter and the desire to re-read the series. One of the other main reasons was that I couldn’t remember much about the series from “Goblet of Fire” onwards especially not “Half-Blood Prince” and “Deathly Hallows” so I wanted to re-jig my memory and read the series through older eyes.
So far I have read; “Philosopher’s Stone”, “Chamber of Secrets” and “Prisoner of Azkaban”. I loved the “Philosopher’s Stone” as it brought back a lot of fond memories for me and I loved the “Chamber of Secrets” due to the murder mystery element to it. My opinion of the book actually changed due to the re-read, I love it a lot more this time around. I liked “Prisoner of Azkaban” but didn’t love it. It was still very good but I just wasn’t drawn into the world as much as I was with the other two books. My plan is to read “Goblet of Fire” next year and carry on the series. After I read Harry Potter I will then begin to re-read…
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Author: Rick Riordan
Status: Finished series
No. of Books: 5
I got this series a couple of Christmas’ ago after my dad and I watched the movie and I loved it so much I asked for the books for Christmas and boy was I shocked by how bad the movies were. Those movies were the epitome of “the book was better”. I was always a massive fan of Greek Mythology and the idea of mixing modern day and ancient gods together blew my mind!
I finished this series nearly 5 years ago and remember loving it but that’s the only thing I can remember about these books as I have completely forgotten what happens in this series. The movies can’t help you as they were so badly done and there were only 2 made! So one of the reasons I wanted to read this book was to remind myself about what happens.
Another reason is I remember loving it so much! This series to me was one of the first series where I realised that there wasn’t just Harry Potter out there. I didn’t think I would ever find a series that would match my love for Harry Potter and yet here we are.
Series: The Heroes of Olympus
Author: Rick Riordan
Status: Need to finish
Last Book I read: The Mark of Athena (Book 3)
No. of Books: 5
You are going to see a lot of Rick Riordan in this post, just to make you all aware. I was really scared reading the Lost Hero as I thought I wasn’t going to love it as much as I loved the previous series. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the new characters and I wasn’t sure what direction this book was going to go. I was relieved when I finished this book that I loved it just as much as I loved the original series and to me, it felt fresh and new, not using recycled storylines which was what I feared it was going to include.
I haven’t finished this series, when I was reading the third book, “The Mark of Athena” the last book came out and I saw loads of spoilers posted by fans so I wasn’t really interested in finishing the series as I now knew the outcomes. So my plan is to re-read the first three books which I have already read first just so I can remind myself what is happening and then continue from there.
Series: The Trials of Apollo
Author: Rick Riordan
Status: To be read
No. of Books: 3
So I haven’t actually read the Trials of Apollo series. I haven’t even read one book. The reason this series is in the list is it’s continuation of the same world that “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and” The Hereos of Olympus” series are in and I know that big things happen to characters introduced in the previous series’ so I feel like I need to complete this world as it’s not the end of the journey for Percy and other characters, hence why this series is here.
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Author: Rick Riordan
Status: Need to finish
Last Book I read: The Sword of Summer (Book 1)
No of Books: 3
I read this book two years ago during the summer holidays when I first decided I was going to focus on reading more. It was one of the first books I ever logged into Goodreads. To me this book was not Rick’s best work but I still enjoyed it regardless. I love Rick’s stories and imagination and to be honest I don’t know much about Norse Mythology so it would be nice to learn more about it as well as finishing this action-packed trilogy.
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
Author: C.S. Lewis
Status: Currently Re-reading
Last Book I Read: The Magician’s Nephew (Book 1)
No. of Books: 7
I have had the entire book series standing on my book-shelf for I don’t know how long! I read up to “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” but haven’t read any of the following novels. During December I like to read smaller books just to amp up the numbers on my Goodreads reading challenge so I decided to pick up the Magician’s Nephew in the hopes of a quick read. That book is left unfinished at it was quite dull. I am hoping when I re-read the next book I won’t be so disappointed. I mainly wanted to read this series as I love this world so much, I watched the first 3 movies and adored them and I want to continue being in this world.
Series: Agatha Christie’s entire collection.
Author: Agatha Christie
Status: Need to Finish
Last Book I Read: The Murder on the Links (Book 2 in the Hercule Poirot Series)
No. of Books: To many to count
I have watched adaptations of Agatha Christie’s work since I was about 10. I have the whole box set of every episode of the Hercule Poirot TV series but I have only ever read 3 of her books. Two which were from her Hercule Poirot series and one which was a standalone story. I want to read Christie’s work because I love her imagination and genius. Having watched everything unfold on the screen I would love to now watch it unfold on the page. I also love the fact that there are so many books and I want to challenge myself to read all of them. I love a challenge.
So there you have it. Quite a lot of books to get through. The next book I will be reading starting Monday will be The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.
“You may know all about cigarettes and match ends, Monsieur Giraud, but I, Hercule Poirot, know the mind of man.”
– Hercule Poirot
I am a massive fan of Agatha Christie’s work that being said I have only read 4 of her books, including this one. I have mainly consumed her work through TV and film and only now as I am older have I started to read her books instead of watching the mystery unfold on the screen.
Plot: Poirot gets sent an urgent letter by a man called Mr Paul Renauld upon urgent matters he would tell him about upon his arrival but when Poirot arrives to France per Mr Renauld’s request he finds that he is too late. Mr Renauld is already dead! With a mysterious past and the rumour of affairs, Poirot finds himself in a truly complicated case.
The characters were incredibly fleshed out which I really appreciated as my first thought was they were going to be walking stereotypes. My personal favourites were Poriot himself and Giraud, the French detective bought in to solve the case. These two characters are complete polar opposites to each other. Poirot is more calculating and takes his time while Giraud was like a puppy on a scent and was boisterous in his approach, overlooking certain elements. Poirot’s dialogue was perfection throughout the whole novel especially in the scenes between him and Giraud. I loved the scenes where they butted heads and had differing opinions.
Hastings as a character was quite infuriating especially near to the end of the novel, he was naïve and at times just plain stupid. I had moments where I wanted to shout at him because he was clearly making mistakes and had a constant lack of judgement. But as a narrator I loved him. This novel wouldn’t have worked if it was Poirot as the narrator or a random member of the accused party. We got to be as close to Poirot’s brain as possible but because Hastings didn’t fully understand certain elements of the case or what Poirot is saying as a reader we aren’t given all the information like we would be if Poirot was the narrator.
The plot was incredible. I can’t put into words how intricate and complex it was, just when you thought it was all sorted another twist or turn or point to consider was thrown into the mix and you are never fully settled until the last page. I was kept on my toes throughout the entire book. Christie has a really good ability to hand you loads of vital information but without revealing the core question which is, “Who killed Mr Renauld?” And that’s what kept me going as I was still waiting for this key question to be awnsered.
The plot is the main driving force on this book, the writing is average I was astounded by the writing style and you don’t need to be as the plot is so smart you forget about the writing and are waiting for the next big moment or reveal.
One part where I wasn’t sure if I liked or hated it was halfway through the book Poirot and Hastings just summarise points made in the last couple of chapters. This was good from a wrap-up point because if I was confused by anything it was explained but also felt slightly out of place to the rest of the narrative. But I can’t pinpoint my thoughts on it.
I loved the book for keeping me on my toes throughout the it’s entirety and being utterly unique. I don’t think anyone can match Christie’s work, I cannot wait to read more.
IndiaReadsALot 
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